


I'll be back by sunset

by Arlene0401



Series: Tumblr drabbles and oneshots 2016 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eren has disappeared, It's tagged MCD for a reason, M/M, Okay the ending is not SUPER happy, Post-Canon, Waiting Levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-13
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-13 19:23:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5714215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arlene0401/pseuds/Arlene0401
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It was pathetic really, being hooked up on a person who had left, seeking comfort in the company of others who were equally wounded. It should be even more pathetic to waste time on the porch every evening around sunset. Every evening, without fail, he would mumble something about catching some fresh air and his housemates would let it pass. After a while, he could almost make himself believe he only seeked a little solitude and a glimpse of the dying sun.<br/>Almost.<br/>Because no matter how hard he tried to suppress the memory of Eren’s last words to him, they popped up in his mind, unwanted, unasked.<br/>“I’ll be back by sunset.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll be back by sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 77 happened, and I listened to this [song](https://youtu.be/qCv4MwkjE30) a little too often, and I had to get it out of my system...

The day had been clear and warm, but the looming clouds on the horizon and the pain in his leg told him there was a storm heading up. A breeze ruffled the shrubs in the front yard and scattered some petals across the porch he sat on.

Levi winced a little as he readjusted his seat to a more comfortable position. He would rather cut off his tongue than complain to anyone or let a limp betray his occasional bouts of pain, but still Hanji had seen right through him - damn, they knew him just too well - and provided him with a bottle of ointment without a word. It helped a lot, he had to admit, but sometimes he just had to grit his teeth and bear it.

From the interior of the house, he could hear low voices and some clattering of dishes, and he would probably be called for dinner soon. The daily, domestic routine had something soothing. Still, it didn´t fill the hollow emptiness inside him. He reckoned the others felt the same. They had seeked each other´s company after Eren had gone. Levi and Mikasa, who had had a bad start, but had come to a mutual respect and understanding. Blood is thicker than water, he had often heard said, and in their case it was true. Distant relatives that they were, they were still the only remnants of the Ackerman clan, similar in looks, in devotion, in strength, both physical and mental. Together with Armin they seemed to form a triangle, but in truth they were a rectangle with one part missing. Eren.

They had been the people closest to him, the ones who knew him best, the ones who missed him most. Although they hardly ever mentioned him, they all knew by heart that their whole relationship revolved around him. The childhood friend. The brother. The lover. He had gone, but in their minds, their hearts, he was still present, an unseen presence that was almost tangible. Sometimes Levi felt - hoped - that Eren would come in and smile at him like he always had. But every time he looked at the doorway it remained empty, of course it would, he scolded himself. Eren had gone and never returned, had left nothing but questions and loneliness. By the way Armin and Mikasa always raised their heads in anticipation whenever footsteps approached the front door he could tell they were the same.

Levi snorted. It was pathetic really, being hooked up on a person who had left, seeking comfort in the company of others who were equally wounded. It should be even more pathetic to waste time on the porch every evening around sunset. Every evening, without fail, he would mumble something about catching some fresh air and his housemates would let it pass. After a while, he could almost make himself believe he only seeked a little solitude and a glimpse of the dying sun.

Almost.

Because no matter how hard he tried to suppress the memory of Eren’s last words to him, they popped up in his mind, unwanted, unasked.

“I’ll be back by sunset.”

But he had not come back by sunset. Not on that day, and not on the next day. It had been a lie, the first lie he’d told Levi, the first time he’d betrayed his trust, and Levi should probably hate him for it. But there was no hate in him, just bitter loneliness and - against all reason - hope. A tiny little fraction of hope that shone and glimmered in the deepest part of his self and kept him going.

Levi plucked an offending petal from his leg, and when he raised his gaze again, there was a figure at the garden gate. It was only a silhouette against the last light, it could have been almost anybody, but Levi felt like all the air was pressed out of his lungs. It was impossible. It couldn’t be. But there was no mistaking, he knew this figure better than anybody in the world. Had it engraved in his mind, stored safely away, along with the sound of that voice, the feel of hot smooth skin under his fingers.

Levi was paralyzed, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t blink as the person - the man - opened the gate and entered the garden. With an effort, Levi averted his eyes, staring at his knees with intense concentration instead. Yet he could see a pair of feet clad in battered boots walk through his field of vision, felt the soft thud as the man sat down next to him. There was a moment of silence.

“Took your damn sweet time to come back, didn’t you?” Levi’s voice was only a hoarse whisper. “What happened, decided to take a dump and got constipated?”

Eren’s laugh was a low soft rumble, felt more than heard.

“That was exactly the kind of welcome I expected from you.”

A small bunch of delicate blue flowers appeared and was placed gently on Levi’s knee.

Gingerly, Levi picked them up and turned them between his fingers.

“Those are the flowers that grow outside your hometown.” It was a statement, not a question. “I’ve come to know them. I picked them whenever I…” his voice failed him, and he swallowed down the sob that threatened to escape him.

“Levi.” Eren placed a hand on his. “I always meant to return to you. Do you believe me?”

“Dammit, Eren! Do you have any idea how long you were gone? How long you kept me waiting?” He managed a shaky laugh. “I mean, look at me. I’m a fucking useless wreck of a veteran.”

“You’re as beautiful as ever, Levi. Please, look at me. Please.”

As if drawn by invisible strings, unable to resist Eren’s plead (damn, he could never resist that brat), Levi turned and raised his head. And there it was, the face he loved, the face he went to sleep with and woke up with, but now in reality. It was there right in front of him, with the softest gentle smile and eyes he wanted to drown in, eyes that had always looked at him as he if had hung the moon in the sky.

Eren looked like he had that day, exactly the same, and Levi became acutely aware that the passage of time hadn’t treated himself kindly. As if reading his thoughts, Eren raised his other hand to cup Levi’s cheek, and he said: “Look into my eyes, Levi. What do you see?”

And then Levi saw it, saw himself mirrored in those pools of green, saw himself like he had always been, his true self - young and strong, invincible, irresistible, passionate.

He smiled back, tears gleaming in his eyes, and he rested his forehead against Eren’s with a sigh that seemed to have been inside of him forever. It felt like coming home after a long journey, although that didn’t make any sense.

Eren pressed a soft kiss against his lips and said: “Let’s go. The others are waiting for us.” Levi didn’t even have to ask what Eren was talking about, and when they got up and walked down the garden path, his heart was light and giddy. He held fast to the other man’s hand like it was a lifeline as they approached the small group of people. Levi couldn’t make out all their faces, not yet, but he didn’t have to. Men and women, some tall, some short, and among them a young petite woman with long raven-black hair who clasped her hands in front of her chest.

Back at the house, the front door opened and a young girl poked her head out. “Uncle Levi? Grandma says dinner is ready.” The figure on the bench didn’t move. The girl frowned and moved towards him. “Uncle Levi? did you fall asleep?” She reached out and touched his shoulder lightly. “Uncle?” Alarmed at his stillness, she called back to the house. “Grandma! Grandma, come quick! Uncle Levi is… he isn’t…”

She covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed. Her grandmother came out, calm and collected like always. She was still beautiful, although the lines in her face betrayed all the hardships and sorrow she had endured and strands of grey had sneaked into her once jet black hair. She placed a hand to the man’s pulse, knowing the result even before she did so. Her granddaughter cried openly beside her, but Mikasa regarded the peaceful smile on Levi’s face, and when her gaze dropped down to the small bunch of flowers, she smiled herself.

Mikasa straightened her back and embraced the girl. “Don’t cry now, dear. Don’t be sad for him. Levi is home now.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my SNK and personal blog under [glassesgirl0401](http://glassesgirl0401.tumblr.com)


End file.
